Apparatus for permanently waving hair on the human head



June 16, 1953 4. s. clPbLLA 2,642,071

APPARATUS FOR PERMANENTLY WAVING HAiR on THE HUMAN HEAD Filed Jam 14. 1950 38 INVENTOR. 2/0851"! Cl oLLq A T-TORNEY Patented June 16, 1953 APPARATUS FOR PERMANENTLY WAVING HAIR ON THE HUMAN HEAD Joseph S. Cipolla, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Frank J. Hale,

New York, N. Y., as trustee for Frank J. Hale, John Garvey, Marianne Andrews, and Joseph S. Cipolla Application January 14, 1950, Serial No. 138,637

4 Claims.

This invention relates to an apparatus for permanently waving hair on the human head. The present invention is a continuation-in-part of my copending application for Method and Means for Hair Waving, Serial No. 14,725, filed March 13, 1948, now United States Letters Patent No. 2,508,374, dated May 23, 195-0, and is a division of my copending application for "Apparatus for Permanently Waving Hair, Serial No. 67,348, filed December 27, 1948, now United States Letters Patent No. 2,508,375, dated May 23, 1950.

It is an object of my invention to provide an apparatus of the character described which is particularly useful for home waving and through Whose use a comparatively unskilled person can give either herself or someone else a permanent Wave of professional appearance.

It is another object of my invention to provide an apparatus of the character described which is of an inherently simple construction and is extremely easy to use.

It is another object of my invention to provide an apparatus of the character described through whose use the hair is permanently waved in ringlet form, whereby not only is the first setting operation eliminated, but the basic wave is of the proper shape and character for subsequent setting operations, this being in contrast to the spiral and Croquignole waves heretofore imparted which had to be reset after completion of waving.

It is another object of my invention to provide an apparatus of the character described through whose use the hair tresses are kept wound until a later stage of operations than ever reached before in permanent waving, whereby the permanency of the wave is enhanced.

It is another object of my invention to provide an apparatus of the character described which is specially adapted to be employed in conjunction with cold wave processes.

"It is another object of my invention to provide an apparatus of the character described in which curls can be wound in any desired direction, i. e. clockwise or counterclockwise.

It is an additional object of my invention to provide an apparatus of the character described through whose use curls may be wound with ease right up to the scalp.

Other objects of my invention will in part be obvious and in part will be pointed out hereinafter.

My invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements andarrangementsof parts which will be exem- 2 plified in the device hereinafter described and illustrated, and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown one of. the various possible embodiments.

of my invention,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a waving unit embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the lines 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the unit at an early stage of a waving operation;

Figs. 4, 5 and'6 are similar views of the unit at later stages of a waving operation; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of an accessory element employed during the waving operation.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 through 7, the reference numeral [0 denotes a waving unit embodying my invention. Said unit comprises a quill 12 of a relatively rigid material, for example, a stiff plastic, which is inert to the chemicals used in the hair waving process. One end of the quill has an enlarged manipulating head l4 and the other end a pair of spaced flanges l6, I8. flange l6 which is intermediate the ends of the quill may be made somewhat larger than the other flange l8, and preferably tapers 01f to a thin edge as best seen in Fig. 2, in order not to interfere with the winding of a curl.

The unit II! also includes a disc 20 of a flexible resilient material, i. e., an elastomer such as rubber or any one of the well known elastomeric plastics, e. g. a polyethylene plastic. Said disc is provided with a central aperture 22 in which the portion of the quill between the flanges l5, I8 is snugly fitted. The distance between the flanges is slightly less than the thickness of. the disc. With thisarrangement the quill is frictionally detained against rotation relative to the disc, except upon the application of sufficient torque to overcomethe frictional restraint. This restraining torque is designed to be considerably less than the torque that can be applied manually.

The disc also includes a slit 24 extending radially from adjacent the aperture 22 and terminating at the periphery of the disc. Slots 26 pierce the disc to both sides of the slit 24 so as to enable the walls thereof to flex and thus accommodate tresses of different cross-sectional areas.

Each unit Ill further includes an accessory element 28 (Fig. 7) which resembles a bobby pin. Said element is fabricated from a thin strip of resilient metal and includes two juxtaposed legs The 3 30, 32 joined by a return bend 34. The legs have registered outwardly extending humps 36, 38 which conjointly define a circular opening 4b. Desirably, the free ends of the legs have outwardly flaring fingers 42 which facilitate the use of said element.

To use the unit H), the hair on the head, 44, is blocked off, as indicated in Fig. 3, whereby to subdivide the hair into a series of tresses, 46, or bundles of strands having a desired base configuration. As illustrated herein, the base configuration of the tresses is approximately square. However, they may be somewhat elongated and even considerably elongated. Nevertheless, in the preferred form of my invention, wherein the hair is permanently waved in the form of ringlets, I have found that the most satisfactory re:- sults are obtained where the bases of the tresses are not considerably elongated as they are for example, in Croquignole waving.

If the permanent waving is to be accomplished by the process known as cold waving, the tresses are processed with a softening or waving solution (these terms being used herein interchangeably) Many such solutions are well known to the art. Mention is made here, only by way of example, of a typical softening solution, to wit, one principally including a reducing agent such as ammonium thioglycollate.

After the tress has been suitably wet with such a solution and combed out, the free or distal end of the tress is wrapped around the quill i2 near the enlarged head hi, suiiicient turns being caught on the quill to irictionally retain this end of the tress in place. At such time the waving unit and the tress have the appearance shown in Fig. 3.

Thereafter the disc and quill are rotated together about the longitudinal axis of the quill, and the tress thus wound about the quill. The winding is not similar to a Crcquignole winding, that is to say, adjacent convoluted turns or the tress, are not overlain. Rather, these adjacent turns are, pursuant to my invention, disposed side-by side along the longitudinal axis of the quill. In other words, the tress is wound as a helix from the free end of the quill toward the disc and from the distal end of the tress to the proximal end of the tress (i. e. the root of the tress at the scalp). In this latter respect the wound tress distinguishes from a spiral winding wherein the'tress is wound from its proximal to its distal end.

When the length of unwound tress is about equal to the radius of the disc, the hair adjacent the proximal end of the tress is slipped into the slit 24, the slots 26 yielding sufficiently to accoma modate the base of the tress, whatever its cross section may be, and at the same time exerting a mild clamping action on the tress so that the same is held in place on the quill and disc.

' When the trees is introduced in the slit, there still is an unduly long portion thereof unwound at the root of the tress. To reduce the length of this portion to an absolute minimum consistent with the construction and size of the waving unit, the quill is rotated in the direction of the winding as indicated by the arrow A in Fig. a, while the disc manually is held stationary. This causes the wave to extend over substantially the full length of the tress.

If desired, this relative rotation of the disc and quill may be employed to add additional tension to the wound. tress, although I have not found that the same is necessary in cold waving.

It, may be noted that, if the hair has not already been wet with a softening solution, it is so wet after the tress is wound on the quill.

Subsequent to winding and wetting the tress, either the entire head of hair or the wound tresses individually are covered to retain any body heat which may find its way thereto from the head.

Each tress is left wound and wet for a sufficient length of time for the softening solution to take eiiect as is well known in the art. After this, there is applied to the wound tress a setting or neutralizing solution (these terms being used herein interchangeably), e. g. an oxidizing solution. Due to the substantial thickness of the wound tress, the setting solution, as is common in all cold waving, has a tendency only to act on the outer layers of the wound tress. I have overcome this difiiculty in accordance with my invention by turning the quill in a reverse direction from that practiced during winding after initial application of the setting solution, this direction being indicated by the dotted arrow B in Fig. 4. Rotation of the quill in such fashion loosens the wound tress and permits the setting solution to penetrate down to the quill. If desired, a second application of the setting neutralizing solution can be made after the quill is backed oif, i. e. turned. through a short, angular distance in an opposite direction to that in which it was turned during the winding of the tress.

Optionally, the foregoing operation may constitute the last step in a cold waving method carried out with the use of my waving unit; However, advantage may be taken of the novel con struction of the waving unit to have the waves wound as ringlets rather than helices. For this puropse, the quill, if not backed off sufficiently prior to the second application of the setting solution, thereafter may be backed off an additional amount sufficient to allow the wound tress to assume a diameter equal to the desired diameter of a ringlet after the further step, next described, is performed. This backing off also is suiiicient to permit a wound tress to become disengaged from its frictional engagement with the quill.

Subsequent to the second backing off step, I slip an accessory element 23 on the quill beneath the enlarged head id as indicated in Fig. 5. When the element is thus positioned, the quill will frictionally engage the circular opening 40 in said element, and the portions of said element on opposite sides of this opening will extend beyond the periphery of the wound tress. Thereafter, said element is urged toward the disc pushing the Wound tress in front of it until the entire tress is flattened against the disc as indicated in Fig. 6, thereby causing the wound tress to assume the shape of a ringlet.

I have found that the setting solution is not instantaneous in its action and therefore if, after such a solution is applied to the wound tress, said tress is flattened against the disc in the manner just set forth the flattened tress left in this condition for a period of time, say 15 minutes to /2 an hour, or even longer, while the tress dries, the tress will be permanently waved either in ring-let form or in a form approaching ringlet .form. The longer the tress is left in the condition indicated in Fig. 6 the closer the permanently waved tress will assume a ringlet form. Moreover, by permitting the tress to dry in a ringlet form it will be set in such form thereby eliminating the step of setting the hair in ringlets sub sequent to permanent waving. If desired, and either before or after the neutralizing solution is applied the tress may be rinsed with clean 1ukewarm water as by spraying or pouring over the wound tress.

Although it is proposed to sell all of the component elements of the hair waving unit as a combination, it is to be understood that individual component elements can be sold as replacement parts for usewith other component elements of the unit. I

It thus will be seen that I have provided an apparatus which achieves the several objects of my invention and meets the condition of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth,

it is to be understood that all matter herein described, or shown in the accompanying drawings,

is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitin sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. For use in conjunction with a quill having an end thereof rotatably received in an opening in a disc, said quill being adapted to have wound thereon from its free end to its end adjacent the disc, a helical tress of hair: an element having 7 an elongated portion and resilient means providing an opening intermediate the ends thereof for slidably engaging the quill adjacent an end opposite from the discwhereby said element may be forced along the quill to the disc so as to fiatten and press between the disc and element the tress of hair wound on the quill.

2. An element as set forth in claim 1 which constitutes two legs joined by a return bend, said legs having registered facing notches which cooperate to define the opening for slidably engaging the quill.

3. An element as set forth in claim 2- wherein the legs and the return bend are in one piece and are of resilient material.

4. The combination with a waving unit including an elongated quill and a flexible disc, said disc having a through opening, said quill being fric- 'tionally received in said opening so as to be mtatable with respect to the disc about the longitudinal axis of the quill against the frictional restraint of the walls of the opening against the quill, said disc having a through slit to receive a tress of hair wound helically along the length of the quill from the distal to the proximal end of the tress and from the free end of the quill to the end of the quill at the disc: of an element having an elongated portion and resilient means providing an opening intermediate the ends of said elongated portion for slidably engaging the quill adjacent the end opposite from the disc whereby said element can engage said quill adjacent the free end thereof and be slid down toward the disc, the elongated portion thereof fiattening and pressing the wound tress against the disc at such time.

JOSEPH S. CIPOLLA.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,742,181 Austin Jan. '7, 1930 2,173,872 Barnes Sept. 26, 1939 2,397,908 Altman Apr. 9, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 421,453 Great Britain Dec. 20, 1934 

